Poll: Who do you trust for nutrition information?
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Posted by: | Feb 14, 2008 6:09:08 PM
Naturopath who is raw food vegan
Posted by: | Feb 14, 2008 6:09:14 PM
they are the best person to ask.
Posted by: Leon Smith | Feb 18, 2008 8:01:05 PM
My nutrition info comes from a variety of sources because any one site or person may have their own agenda. If I talk to a butcher and a soybean farmer about what's the best protein option, I can tell you what each will say, and they won't agree on ANYthing. Sites like this (nutritiondata.com) are probably less biased than many, so this is my first stop. But if I find information that's based on opinion rather than mathematics (and it IS one or the other), I will go elsewhere to find an opposing point of view, and make up my own mind.
Posted by: Helen Wheels | Feb 19, 2008 10:10:10 AM
I agree with Helen. Too many websites and other non-accredited sources have an agenda to promote. Quite often, the agenda is the support of advertisers. I have been very disappointed in very well know web sites that return "weight Loss" information when I search for nutrition information. I've even come accross an article promoting green tea that made the claim that honey doesn't have calories.
I trust helath professtionals the most because there are some standards they need to meet and some credetials that they have to obtain. However, even the professionals have agendas but the other sources have very little restraints on their claims.
Posted by: Joe | Feb 22, 2008 8:03:28 AM
I wish more credit would be given to dietitians.
They had to have their Masters and PhD degrees before the nurses and were paid less. The dietitian should be making the decision of what type a diet a person should be on not a general medicine doctor, surgeon,etc. The doctor can harm patients because they may be, as an example, on a clear liquid or other diet too long. It is the dietian who was trained in our systems and the nutrition we need. The doctor should put in an order so a dietitian can interview a patient the first day they are admitted and set up a diet for that individual person and our insurance should reimburse them like the other medical specialties.
Finally, diabetics are able to see dietians for their diets and their insurance will pay up to a degree. It is too bad the dietian has to be called in when it is so late that the patient's organ is damaged.
Doctors should be trained not to say to a patient that there "sugar" is a little high. You are either a diabetic or not. This is when a dietian should be called in immediately.
There are dietians who are themselves vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians, raw foods, holistic and other diet enthusiasts.They are all out there and respect the type of diet best for each of us.
They should be reimbursed with our insurance for what they know.We would be saving money in the long run.
A class should be in our schools at each grade giving advice and being reinbursed by our taxes. Children would learn early how to eat properly and many vists to the doctor's offices would be curtailed. Again we would be saving money.
We also, have to do as much as posssible to help ourselves with all the information that is out there.
At least those of us who care.
It has taken a long time for the restaurants and the big food companies to give us healthier foods, even though they knew, as and example, high sodium and trans fats were not good many years ago. We are now starting to taste food for what it really should taste like.
We have to just plug away to the food industries and medical "industry" and have our say.
Look how huge our weight lost industry is. Yikes! There is no fast fix.
Peace
Posted by: Stephanie | Mar 3, 2008 11:41:17 AM
I could not agree with Stephanie more. Registered Dietitians are highly trained nutrition professionals with years of academically-recognized education and training. The average Registered Dietitian will have more formal education than your average Registered Nurse. Dietians must complete an undergraduate degree, an internship and/or masters program, then pass a national registration exam.
Would you rather get your nutrition advise from someone who calls themselves a "nutritionist" without credentials or a person who is a Registered Dietitian?
Posted by: Amber | Mar 4, 2008 11:06:46 AM
Well, the obvious answer here (and one not provided) is "Nutrition Data").
At one point I'd actually downloaded the USDA database so I could figure this stuff out, then I found this site. Where else would I go? USDA is THE authority for nutrition analysis in this country, the USDA DB is what you (and most of the food manufacturer's) use.
I understand, as previous posts have made clear, the value of a dietitian. However, the question wasn't "Who do you trust for nutrition information ***to treat a condition or specific healthcare need***" it was "Who do you trust for nutrition information?"
I can figure out what I, personally, need to do by reading sites having to do with my personal health problems and personal beliefs, or by speaking to my physician. However, for "nutrition information", I rely on nutritiondata.com, becase they are by far and away the best resource of detailed nutrition info (from the USDA) and it's presented in a really concise format...even more concise, nowadays, with the new website revision!
This site genuinely helps me make better choices in my diet - and isn't that what it's all about? I started on this site because I wanted to lose weight - and I've done that but I'm not done! lol - and continued on this site because I found out I have high blood pressure, and this site has been tremendously helpful in choosing the appropriate foods, and especially, finding alternate foods. Weirdly (wayyyyy weirdly) I'm actually really enjoying eating healthy at 48 for the first time...and I know just how healthy I am eating because of this site. As dumb as this sounds, some days I don't need to take a vitamin, because I know I've mostly gotten everything.
You need to modify this poll to include: "Almost always nutritiondata.com" ir maybe change it to checkboxes so you can choose website AND another category.
I'd leave my email address, but I don't know if it would be properly withheld from the public - but truly, this is an amazing site as anyone who has looked for even slightly similar resources can attest.
Thanks guys.
Julie
Posted by: Julie, N. Idaho | Mar 9, 2008 5:33:09 PM
One thing we need to keep in mind is "Your Mileage May Vary" I am a type 2 diabetic, but I can eat more carbs in potato form than I can in say rice ( same # of carbs produce far different blood glucose numbers) maybe due to me being Irish. each of us is an individual, so what does good for you might not be so good for me, YMMV!
Posted by: Gracie | Mar 11, 2008 10:12:33 PM
I don't understand why the research literature isn't listed as a choice; seems the most obvious choice to me.
Anyone else I trust is because their recommendations line up with the literature.
Posted by: jpatti | Mar 12, 2008 7:17:43 AM
I collect my information from all different types of sources and I very rarely find any one type of source to always be correct or wrong. I use deeper research into a topic, along with my best judgment, to decide what is false or true.
Quite simply, I trust myself more than any single source.
Posted by: JRinke | Mar 12, 2008 5:00:42 PM
JRinke,
Well said! And that's really what we're about at Nutrition Data. We're not here to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't be eating. Our primary mission is to provide accurate, detailed information about the foods you eat so that you can make informed decisions about your diet and health.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Mar 14, 2008 8:50:25 AM
First of all, you have to decide whether you get your nutrients from food or from supplements. My strong opinion is from the former. Having said that, there are very few real authorities on food as a nutrition, and most that you can trust can be traced back to Dr. Bernard Jensen. That's the one I trust and follow.
In addition to that, trust yourself as Jrinke said. Do your research. You are surrounded by people who want to sell you something regardless of whether it idoes or doesn't solve your health problems.
Posted by: hefir | Mar 24, 2008 7:30:57 AM
This poll is no good because it asks two different questions.
Asking "WHERE do you get most of your nutrition information" is different from WHO DO YOU TRUST for nutrition info".
I would say that I get most of my info from magazines which I do not necessarily trust. I would probably trust a doctor or nutritionist more than a magazine article.
Posted by: Kim | Mar 24, 2008 8:20:06 AM
This is a very relevant question. I have used Nutrition data for some research work in the food and livestock area, but encountered quite a few vigorous challenges to the validity of the data, especially on the choletsterol and fat ratings of various meats from different animal species. One thing that could improve the Nutrion Data would be recognition of the effect of different environmental and feeding conditions on meat characteristics.
More generally, I tend to use data from a range of sources as there is no real authority on this subject.
David Michael
Wondu Business & Technology Services
Level 31, ABN-AMRO Tower, 88 Phillip Street
Sydney
NSW
Australia
Posted by: David Michael | Mar 24, 2008 11:01:22 PM
This poll do not give sufficient choice
Posted by: | Mar 25, 2008 4:41:38 PM
Excellent question. It seems the average person is bombarded by commercially motivated information as Joe pointed out, and it concerns me that there seems to be conflict even amongst the professionals who are attempting to address our appalling health status in this country today. Amber suggested that "nutritionists" have no credentials as though they have nothing to offer. Having put in my long hours to complete a bachelor of health science in Nutritional Medicine this seems a little unwarranted and unjust a statement to make. As to where I get my info? Both scientific and empirical evidence works for me. The work of Weston Price is an inspiration, whilst "absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence." Cheers
Posted by: Jillaine | Mar 29, 2008 6:05:39 AM
Naturopath who is raw food vegan